ABC Axes All My Children and One Life to Live

ABC is confirming what has been rumored for weeks: All My Children and One Life to Live will end their storied runs in September 2011 and January 2012, respectively.

The twin cancellations will leave just four soaps on the air — Days of Our Lives on NBC, General Hospital on ABC, and The Young & The Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful on CBS.

AMC and OLTL — which have been around for a combined 83 years — will be replaced by a pair of generic-sounding (and cheaper to produce) talk/lifestyle shows, the food-themed The Chew and the makeover-centric The Revolution.

Contain your excitement.

“While we are excited about our new shows and the shift in our business, I can’t help but recognize how bittersweet the change is,” said ABC Daytime president Brian Frons. “We are taking this bold step to expand our business because viewers are looking for different types of programming these days. They are telling us there is room for informative, authentic and fun shows that are relatable, offer a wide variety of opinions and focus on ‘real life’ takeaways.

“All My Children and One Life to Live are iconic pieces of television that have made an indelible mark on our culture’s history,” Frons continued. “Each of the shows has touched millions and millions of viewers and informed the social consciousness. It has been a privilege to work with the extraordinary teams who brought the residents of Pine Valley and Llanview to life each day, and we thank the cast, crew, producers and most especially the fans for their commitment to the shows through their history.”

Ratings for daytime soaps have been on a steady decline for the past two decades as viewing patterns shifted and audiences migrated to talk shows. In the past 10 years alone, the industry saw the cancellation of As the World Turns, Guiding Light, Port Charles and Passions.

In a statement, suds queen Susan Lucci — who has played the iconic Erica Kane since AMC‘s inception in 1970 — said, “It’s been a fantastic journey. I’ve loved playing Erica and working with [AMC creator] Agnes Nixon and all the incredible people involved with All My Children. I’m looking forward to all kinds of new and exciting opportunities.”

It’s sad for the fans of daytime drama that there are only four shows left, but there is also another story that is affected that is going unnoticed.

The city of New York seems to be drying up as a city of television production and it’s a city that has a wealth of acting talent with so many stage veterans.

“Guiding Light” & “As The World Turns” (which I watched for 48 years) were cancelled. “All My Children” moved west before being cancelled. “One Life To Live” joins the list. Toss in the loss of “Law & Order” and you see a pattern developing where production seems to be drying up in Gotham.

I expected All My Children, but not One Life to Live. I stopped watching regularly a long time ago, but I still catch it once in a while when I’m not working. ABC needs to realize that all they’re doing is pushing people to look for good, scripted shows on other networks. Reality tv needs to die a slow, painful, torturous death.

How does Disney/ABC justify keeping Brian Frons employed? He alienates the viewers with his decisions… do they think daytime fans will want to watch food shows? The Food Network does it better. If he was really listening to fans he would have been improving the shows they had because THAT is what they’ve been clamoring for… not Healthy Lifestyle (yawn) shows… #FIREFRONS

F*** ABC. I’ve been watching AMC since day 1. Yea, it’s not the same show it once was, but i’ll miss it immensely (yea, so I need a life!). So many memories, happy and sad. My best wishes for the cast and crew and a huge THANK YOU.

I HEARD ABOUT AMC BEING RUMORED TO BE CANCELLED, BUT NOT OLTL. I DID STOP WATCHING AMC WHEN IT MOVED TO CA, IT JUST WASNT THE SAME TO ME, BUT ONTL IS MY FAVORITE. WHAT IS DISNEY AND BRIAN F THINKING OF, WHY BOTHER WITH GH FOR THAT WILL BE THE NEXT TO GO. ANOTHER ABC VIEWER GONE THATS ME

I am truly heartbroken. I have watched oltl since i was 10. And no i am not going to watch any show in its place. As it is the only few shows i watch on tv is oltl. Now i am only going to watch gh,pp and greys.

I guess it was inevitable. I still watch GH everyday (via DVR); it doesn’t rule my life, but I enjoy the good storylines. I guess it’s a good thing I work during the day and won’t have to watch the new garbage they put on the air – and it will be garbage. I wonder when they will realize that not everyone like “reality” or reality-like shows. Soon, I won’t even need a television. The networks will yank all of the good shows. Wait. They already do that.

I feel sorry for all of the people employed on these two shows (non-actors and actors alike) who are now out of a job because Frons thinks he know what’s doing.

WHAT!!!!!!!! REALITY SHOWS ARE SO YESTERDAY…I DONT CARE TO HEAR WOMEN TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY THINK THEIR LIFE IS ABOUT AND I CERTAINLY DONT CARE TO ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE “VICTIMS” OF DR PHIL, JERRY SPRINGER OR WHO EVER ELSE IS PEDDLING PROPRAGANDA.. ITS NOT ABOUT CANCELING TV SHOWS..ITS ABOUT WHO REALLY HAS THE SAY IN WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO WATCH ON TV.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I’ve been watching AMC since I was 8 years old (1971)!!!!!!! And OLTL for over 20 years! Why would they do this? For worthless talk shows? I will NEVER EVER watch those shows – HEAR ME, YOU MORONS!!!!!!! You will FAIL!!!!!!!!!

I heard the rumors and ABC kept on lying the whole time. Daytime is dead due to the fact the writers did not move forward with the times. Viewers are out there and fan of the soap genre will just go elsewhere. ABC Daytime will not be the same. I am a huge OLTL fan and this just makes me mad. Ugh, I feel sick to my stomach. To the actors and people associated with AMC and OLTL, my heart goes out to you. Nothing worse than being lied too about your own job security.

I feel really badly about losing these two shows. Although I seldom watch AMC, I don’t miss any episodes of OLTL. I have watched OLTL since the summer of 1969, and I will miss the characters as well as the stories. There is no way I will watch two stupid talk shows…aren’t there enough of those on television? Instead, I will end up taking my viewership to another station and watch another soap. Bad, bad move ABC…you can count on losing lots and lots and lots of people.

I’m sad to hear this I grew up watching All My Children. I remember one night kissing my mom and turning my head side to side while kissing, she asked what I was doing and I told her that was the marriage kiss, I learned from All My Children. (Form on of Eric’s many weddings) Needless to say she wouldn’t let me watch the show for awhile after that but as I got older I found my way back to All My Children in the summers while home from school and then at college and now I DVR it so I can watch every night. My husband will be thrilled but I am very sad about the news. What’s wrong with unwinding from a work day by living vicariously through the outrages lives of people on Soaps! So sad.

WHY ARE THEY TAKING OFF ALL THE SOAPS I AM 69 AND ALMOST ALL MY LIFE THERE HAS BEEN A SOAP OPERA ON THEY TOOK AWAY SECRET STORM, GUILDING LIGHT AS THE WORLD TURNS NOW ALL MY CHILDREN AND ONE LIFE TO LIFE IT REALLY MAKES ME SAD TO SEE ALL OF THIS HAPPEN BUT GUESS THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN SAY OR DO TO STOP IT BUT I SURE DID ENJOY THEM PLEASE LEAVE THE REST OF THEM ALONE THANNK YOU

I am very upset with this news!! I will NOT be watching any show that replaces these two shows. I cannot believe someone at ABC is stupid enough to cut AMC and OLTL. ABC soaps have a huge following and you just lost millions of viewers in those two time slots! I hope they cut the jobs of the idiots that made this decision!!!

I stopped actively watching soaps when Another World was canceled by NBC. Still sad to see another one bite the dust, as it’s often a good diversion. I suggest sending The Powers That Be bars of soap. LOTS of them

Wow. Just…wow. I started watching all the ABC soaps when I was 12. (Erica Kane was married to Travis Montgomery and Jackson had just entered the picture.) And while I can’t watch any daytime TV as much anymore since I’m at work, I always kept up with AMC and OLTL. (GH lost me during the whole Laura’s secret Cassadine son mess.) The Disney conglomerate is making a mistake. You’re telling me you can have a million and a half different ESPN channels that cover every “sport” from poker to underwater basket weaving, but you can’t keep SoapNet around, move these two programs over there and keep a very loyal fan base happy? You guys SUCK!

OK, Comcast takes over and here we go. I don’t like the reality, soo boring and really don’t give a hoot about these individuals lives – I have enough reality in my own life to sustain me. I don’t care about dance shows, bachelor shows, etc. Give me something that can (Calgon) take me away. :) Shows that have a plot, can use my mind to try and figure out something, a good comedy show that’ll interest me. We definitely don’t need anymore talk shows. Maybe some new leadership, with someone, that actually is in tune with the public would do this network a great deal of assistance.

I kind of wondered if AMC would get canceled but to go as far as canceling OLTL too???? It just won the director’s guild award! And Roger Howarth was just barely coming back! This really ruins my day, as these are the only soaps I’ve watched on a semi-consistent basis for the last 25-30 years. I could have lived with just the AMC cancellation, but OLTL has never been better than it is right now, especially with the upcoming return of Howarth. They should have canceled GH instead. ABC…you are becoming the new NBC!! (I can think of no worse insult than this, as it’s a pretty bad insult to be compared to NBC).

I am someone who hasn’t watched soaps in a long time but I really do appreciate the genre. I loved Days and ATWT. My first TV memory is Days when I was just 2 or 3. ATWT got me throuhg college. It also looks to me that they cancelled all the NYC-based shows. RIP AMC & OLTL!!

The destruction of the entire ABC line-up from Regis to La Lucci to Victoria Lord to Oprah………all in the same year!!! I cannot believe that those actors on AMC have to go to work for 3 months thinking they are being replaced by a show actually named “The Chew.” If I didnt know better, I would think this was an April Fools Joke

Why would ABC cancel a show that does not lose them money for garbage? Oh that’s right because America likes garbage! Reality shows are just what america wants. Perhaps we should blame ourselves….or just don’t tune in to the crap!

A shocking decision. Can’t believe more reality garbage is about to hit the airwaves. It’s all about money and I guess viewers are ultimately the blame for not watching. I still miss my all=time favourite soap, Guiding light, and shows such as Edge of Night. So many talented people working in front of and behind the cameras will be looking for work.

just what we need more talk shows, more food shows. i heard rachel ray say evoo till i thought i would puke, dont even waste my time with the view, divas or any of that crap. i cancled my cable and now there wont be anything to turn the tv on for, fools

Sadly, this is all about the money. The number of viewers has fallen drastically over the years – for AMC it is down nearly 50% from 10 years ago and 70% from 20 years ago. If you don’t have viewers, you won’t make money on selling commercials, and if you cant sell the commercials, you cant pay the bills. Susan Lucci was reportedly making $1 million a year until they gave her a pay cut in 2008. Think about how much goes into making these shows – a cast of 30 actors, all the writers, producers, directors, hair, makeup, wardrobe, elaborate sets, etc. Budget-wise, there is no way a scripted show of this magnitude can compete with reality TV. Even if it only brings in half of the viewers, the expenses are probably 1/10th. Moving them to SoapNet will only cut the commercial revenue further. As much as I hate to see them go, there is no way to make them work.

Although I haven’t watched AMC for years, I was always keeping up with the happenings in Pine Valley. I even watched their appearance on Hot in Cleveland. AMC was something I shared with my stepmom and her mom. I even have the board game! I’m glad though I got to go to Soap Opera Weekend at CA Adventure and meet David Canary and Michael Knight…and see La Lucci. What will happen to those that chose to move out with the production? An era is ending!

As an avid AMC & OLTL, I am devastated. ABC doesn’t know a good thing…Brian Frons should go. And as for what Sue stated, I agree that they don’t give night time shows long enough to develop and one needs the DVR to know when something is on. Case in point: FLASH FORWARD!!!!! That show had sooooo much potential, but ABC kept moving it around and putting it on hiatus for 2 months….no wonder they can’t get loyal viewership. I have lived through various cancellations, Another World, Santa Barbara, Passions, Sunset Beach, The soon to be SOAPnet channel. My sister has gone through Ryan’s Hope, Loving, The City, Generations cancellations. It is getting ridiculous. I don’t think I can take anymore. Long live DAYS and GH, the only thing I have to look forward to.

Absolute travesty.. You uproot AMC and move them all to California, only to cancel them a year later.. That is such a tv executive move..
I hope your ratings plummet..
I do appreciate you leaving at least one soap on your network..

I have literally grown up on all the ABC soaps. All four of my grandparents watched them, then my mother, and now me and even my husband. More talk and lifestyle shows are NOT what they need on the air. There are whole networks you can watch for that. I was about to renew my subscription to ABC Soaps In Depth magazine, but I guess I had better not. What a sad day for television. I wish all the actors, writers, and production crews the best of luck in finding work in their fields.

U know there are channels for these new shows so if I wanted to watch those shows I would change to that channel. I mean how many talk shows should we be forced to watch? I have always watched oltl and then turned to cbs to watch guiding light. Now I watch gh. But if oltl is gone ill just stop watching abc daytime altogether. Very annoyed by this decision!!

Even though I am not a big soap fan, I think this is a loss. Not just as a genre, but also to an industry. So many actors and writers developed their talents by working on soaps. Fewer opportunity for young actors, writers, directors, etc. Is a loss for their industries.

Brian Fronz is an idiot and an jacka**. More shows that can be found on networks dedicated to specific subjects and done much better on those networks, is not what daytime needs. The Chew, and seriously who thought up that brilliant name, sounds boring and a rip off of the rip offs of the original great food shows. I never watche AMC but I have watched OLTL off and on through the years and it is sad to see it go. I actually can’t wait for GH to get cancelled…I hate hate what has happened with it becoming Sopranos Lite and not even doing a very good job of it. I use to love GH and race home everyday to see it on my VCR…now its crap. And I blame Fronz and B. Guza for that. Dudes really need to be fired ASAP!!!

Obviously this is motivated by the continuing change in TV entertainment that expects 24 hour programming at a fraction of the cost. Hence the proliferation of talk shows, game shows and reality tv. Soap Operas have always been about more than filling a time slot or getting viewers – it’s about the long term relationships those viewers create with the actors and the soap communities that motivate them to go to fan events and follow those actors from soap to soap to prime time to the big screen.

And therein lies one of the greatest casualty of the slow death of the soap opera genre: the ability to develop talent. There are probably very few television programs today that don’t feature someone who honed their acting craft during time on a soap opera. Many of whom have gone on to be Emmy and Oscar winners. Where will find the future Demi Moores, Brad Pitts, Sarah Michelle Gellars, Nathan Fillions, Jensen Ackles…the list goes on. Will it be from “reality TV”??? Heaven help us all then!

Well thank you for taking away the only thing worth watching on day time television.
What will we watch now oh wait I know the all Obama channel
Now we can get more mind control and less free thinking.